Two local teams that were looking to host high level Hockey Canada events, will now lose the chance to do so, for at least five years. We will get to explaining that, however the back story is quite lengthy.
In 2017 Hockey Canada changed the trade deadline hour from 11:59 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.on trade deadline day.
Several players switched teams both within the OJHL and outside well. Both Trenton and Wellington acquired players on the 10th. Wellington traded for goaltender Tanner Beals from the Belle Tire U-18 club (AAA Detroit), while the GHawks acquired Ted Davis from the Brantford 99ers (OJHL). The Dukes got Beals before 6:00 pm, while Davis was acquired by Trenton after 6:00 pm.
In an article from The Hockey News, the OJHL claimed they were not aware of the time change, and appealed to Hockey Canada to allow all trades on January 10th to stand, no matter what time of day they happened. They lost their appeal.
The penalty was steep for the league. A $50,000 fine and the OJHL cannot host a Hockey Canada event for the next five years. What about the trades? The players that were moved around are allowed to stand, but only within the league (OJHL). What does that mean? Well, players like Ted Davis can play for Trenton, only during the OJHL regular season and league playoffs. If Trenton wins the OJHL title and moves on to the Dudley Hewitt Cup, Davis cannot take part. Their season in the OJHL will be done. Players acquired prior to 6:00 pm such as Beals will not be effected.
It gets worse for both teams however. It was leaked that the Wellington Dukes were going to be awarded next years Dudley Hewitt Cup. Dukes spokesperson Randy Uens says the leak is accurate. They were going to announce getting the championship during their nationally televised game on CHCH Saturday against Kingston.
The Central Canadian Championship winning team goes off to the RBC Cup, the national Canadian junior hockey championship. It serves as a great recruiting tool for teams to bring top tier players to their program. Both Wellington and Trenton have hosted the tournament in the last five years (Wellington 2014, Trenton 2017), and have both won and played in the national championships (Trenton 2016, 2017, Wellington 2018).
The tournament brings hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy. For the next five years, neither team can apply for it, or even larger tournaments such as the World Junior A Challenge or RBC Cup. It was well known around the Quinte area that the City of Quinte West and the Trenton Golden Hawks were bidding on the World Junior A Challenge and the RBC Cup. Both of those tournament can bring upwards of $1 million to the local economy.
It is not known if an appeal can be made once again, or if the league, and teams like Trenton and Wellington will have to sit on the sidelines and wait.
Ted Davis #53 of the Trenton Golden Hawks
(Photo by Ed McPherson / OJHL Images)
